Starting soon with Millis...

The school cost is correct - the money down can be worked out with Millis if you are accepted to the school. Also the cost of the school is taken out at $20.00 per week and it's not forgiven - it will be deducted until it's PIF, you do the math - $2,000 divided by $20.00 a week. The OTR training cost is forgiven if you stay the first year.

As far as the hotel - the cost will be deducted from your check at $10.00 per week until paid. I think when I went through it was $25.00 a day when you shared a room or $50.00 a day if in a single room.

 

Best of luck to you. I know the state assistance program is mostly for unskilled individuals, but they also accept if your skill is really in the toilet, thus you can't find sufficient work in your field. That's the way it is in KY anyway. I have a degree in computer networking and they still provided training to me to change career fields. Maybe something to ask them.

 

Thanks alot guys I really appreciate all the info as I could use all the help I can get. Ny unemployment has nothing to help me, i already called them and the only school thats close to me is ntts. Thats $7995 for the cheapest cdl a program they have. I'm goona check into that wia thing some more now that I know about it. My sister lives about 30 minutes from trenton so I gotta place to stay for free, its just the down payment I was worried about. didnt want to get accepted and then have to back out due to that and maybe ruin my chance of getting into millis later. All of your guys input is helping me out though, and thats another reason to wait for millis training as it seems theres some commraderie between the people working there.

 

Call and talk with Mike Millis. He's helped people out in the past with the down payment. Not saying he will but can't hurt to talk to him and explain your situation.

 

If the cost is the biggest factor, you really should look into community/technical colleges in the area. You may find one in your area that has a driver training program at a fraction of the cost of the normal CDL schools, usually at regular tuition prices plus "lab" fees, or in this case, equipment usage fees. I know when I was looking into in Alabama, there were two schools close to me that were under $1,200. The regular CDL schools/mills were between 4 and 6K at that time (2003).

I don't believe Millis will take you straight out of another school, but you could cut your training costs, possibly finance them or get a grant through the school finance office, and get a job with another company. Companies recruit just as hard out of those CC schools as they do the more expensive schools, and the training is the same, or better in a lot of cases because you generally put more hours in at the community college program.

Something to check out and consider. Hope you find something that works for you.

Another note...you probably have $500 worth of stuff in your house you could sell on Craigslist or in a garage sale to make the down payment. Most people can come up with $500 if they sacrifice a bit. If the investment turns into a career that pays off, selling your iPhone and getting a cheap messaging phone is a momentary inconvenience. You can cut your cable down to basic cable...or nothing for awhile. As blasphemous as it sounds, you can cut your internet access off and just make trips to the library if you want to access it until you can afford to reinstate it. If you use your fuel points while over the road, you can have pretty regular access if you stay at a place in that network.

Short term sacrifice can probably help you come up with the money to get started, and some hard work will get you back on top of the game.

Good luck out there.

 

Bear63 is mike millis at there home office? which place would i call to maybe talk to him? and thanks for the advice fatdog already sold fishing gear, four wheeler, turned off the cell phones and cable. ive got dsl internet and a land line thats it. basically living inside and eating. but thanks for the ideas though.

 

Yes Mike Millis is at the corporate office. The same place you call recruiting.

 

whats the starting pay per mile after a refresher course, have CDL, 10 years experience, left the field in 2004, also looking at FFE, there only paying .29 CPM, but training is free just stay 1 year, with longer runs, thanks